A few additions about driving...

After re-reading the last post, I realized there are a few additions I need to make regarding driving and Japanese police. First and foremost, they do NOT play around when it comes to drinking and driving. .03 will get you a DUI (that's roughly one drink!) so you don't drink and drive here. Period. Also, if you're riding with someone who gets a DUI, YOU get one too! Oh and if you get a DUI you're going to jail for 23 days at a minimum. If you're in an alcohol related accident you'll be spending a minimum of one year in prison. (And yes, DUIs are reported back to the States too.)

Another interesting fact is that you can be put in jail for 23 days without being charged! Basically the police are judge and jury for tickets and minor violations. If you get a ticket (which they say every American gets at least one) you do not try to argue with the police, you do not have an opportunity to appeal, you just pay the fine and move on (because if you try to argue you will most likely find yourself thrown in jail for 23 days, oh, and did I mention you don't get a phone call and they don't have to tell anyone when you're put in jail!?!) The good news is that Japanese police are considered to be extremely honest and fair and if they're ticketing or arresting you, they are doing it because you've broken the law.

Last but not least, if you're in an accident and someone rear-ends you, they are not automatically at fault. If it's determined that you could have gotten out of their way, you may receive a percentage of the fault. Also, it's the insurance companies not the police that determine fault! The only time this doesn't apply is if the person who rear-ends you is a new driver (had a license for less than a year), is an elderly driver(over 70), or it's a bus or taxi - then you will automatically be 90-100% liable! New drivers and elderly have huge stickers on their cars that identify them, but basically the stickers mean - get out of my way!!!! Taxi drivers may be the scariest of all though - have you ever taken a ride in a cab?! They think they own the road and the only difference here is that it's nearly impossible for the cabby to be faulted for the accident! These are definately huge differences from the US and may seem unfair to us, but I think the intention is to force drivers to be even more aware of their surroundings...

My next post will most likely be about our new house. We move in tomorrow!!!

transportation

We've been in Japan exactly 2 weeks today and I'm happy to report we're getting more and more adjusted to life here. One of the major areas of adjustment has been transportation. The public transportation system here is impressive to say the least. I've included a picture of the train map we are slowly learning to understand. The biggest challenge at train stations is that usually the only thing in English is the station name and the final destination of the train, so it's difficult to determine if the arriving train will stop where you actually want to get off. This makes the English map to the right VERYYYY important!

The train system is also known for being very timely. If a train is even 3 minutes late it will make the evening news. At rush hour when the train is packed there are actually white gloved men who physically push people into the train to make sure the doors shut and it leaves on time! I haven't had an opportunity to take a picture of this yet, but on our first train ride Shane almost got pushed!!

Now, as far as driving is concerned I'm not really sure where to begin...well, they drive on the left side of the street rather than the right, that is definately the most noticeable difference. It really isn't as bad as it seems though, most steering wheels are on the opposite side too (see the picture of our not so new new car!) which somehow balances everything out and makes it a little easier. Definately takes some getting used to, but as long as you remind yourself left, left, left every time you turn it's not too bad.

The car is a '96 honda CRV with 64000km (roughly 30000miles). We're hoping it is dependable and lasts our time here, but if it doesn't we can always junk it and buy 3 or 4 more cars for the price of one back in the states!

Oh, I also wanted to mention that I found out more about this crazy street sign!! They say in Japan that if you park your car for free, you're parking illegally. Some of the larger stores may have free parking if you buy something from the store, but for the most part you pay to park. The sign to the right actually tells you were parking is available! It's a little difficult to see, but all of the black squares are parking areas-if the characters are red the lot is full, yellowish-green the lot is open! The characters in white are landmarks such as city hall and the post office. The rental agent explained that it's better for them to put landmarks because street names are even confusing for her and she's lived in Japan for almost 20 years!

Kamakura field trip

For all of you who have been asking for more pictures, this post is for you!!! Our first week was filled with attending an Area Orientation/Intercultural Relations class. On the 4th day we took a class field trip to the city of Kamakura. As a class we took the train (which is an experience in itself) and went to a shrine. Then we were on our own to take a train back! ENJOY - oh and you can click on a pic if you'd like to see a larger view.

Fact: Japan's population is roughly half the US population, but is the size of the state of California (and only about 20% is usable land because it is very mountainous)! EVERYTHING is crowded and built UP!

Shane's lunch in Kamakura: ginger pork with rice, cabbage, and miso soup - tasty!

My lunch: katsu-ju - deep fried pork on a bed of rice and cabbage with a side of miso soup - I will DEFINATELY eat this again!!

Outside the restaurant...still not sure of the name of the place!

Just outside the train station (yes, we took the train!!)

Any guess what trash goes where? Bottles go in the round holes, I have NO idea about the rest!

A Torii gate indicates the entrance to a Shinto Shrine. Shinto is one of two major religions in Japan and is the only native religion. In the past roosters were given as an offering to the shrine. The Torii is actually a rooster perch.

Tsurugaoka-Hachimangu Shrine

Cleansing before entering the shrine. The process is to rinse the left hand, then the right, pour water in the left hand, rinse the mouth, spit the water onto the rocks, then let the remaining water pour down the handle to prepare it for the next person.

Barrells of Sake!! Donated to the Shrine each year in order to receive prayer and blessings for a good season of rice crops.

This is a ceremonial dance platform, also many Japanese weddings are held here.

Hongu Shrine - the main Shrine at the Tsurugaoka-Hachimangu Shrine, there are several others within this complex

This was an interesting vending machine...choose the drink and it comes in a cup with ice!

Buddhism is the other major religion in Japan, it was brought to Japan from India via Korea. This is the Great Buddah (second largest in Japan) and is so big it had to be placed outside the temple.

Kotoku-in Buddhist Temple

Think it's tough to choose cellphone service? Imagine if everything looked like this! The only thing we could read on the entire contract was "Shane Price" everything else was in Japanese characters!!! Fortunately, honor and trust are extremely important to the Japanese so we got thru it and now have Japanese cell phones!

Yummy pork dumplings and noodles at a chinese restaurant in Yokosuka.

Showing off his chopstick skills!

Our first outing (Part 2)

I'm going to start by saying sorry in advance for the formatting, but it's either this or nothing at all! This is a picture of the sushi place I wrote about yesterday. After lunch we just walked around town taking it all in. Rougly half the restaurants and shops advertised their store names in English and Japanese, the rest were Japanese only. It's a very odd feeling to suddenly lose the ability to read and talk, almost like being a baby again. It's funny though because hand gestures and facial expressions go a long way!

A few steps outside the main gate...

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the funniest partof the day - I chickened out the first time I walked in a bathroom!!! Yes, that's right, I stood in line and when I realized it was a traditional Japanese toilet (basically a ceramic whole in the ground) I just turned around and walked out. What can I say, a girl can only handle so much in one day! Sorry if that's too much sharing, but I know some of you will appreciate this story!!

These are the first Japanese items we purchased. I chose the apple juice on the right, Shane chose what we're assuming is green tea on the left. Mine was delicious! Shane's...well, not so good...it was a VERY bitter tea with a kickin after taste.

Buying water from the vending machine...in yen!

A yummy crepe filled with strawberries, ice cream, pudding, and chocolate!

As we were walking through town, there was a boardwalk festival complete with a Japanese country band (they even sang "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in Japanese) and line dancers!

Squid...

...and fish eggs at the grocery store!!

Driving in Japan doesn't look so bad, right?!

Until you see a sign like this!!!

Our first outing

We've been in Japan for roughly 72 hours now and it's been extremely exciting and just a little overwhelming! We spent Friday and Saturday getting settled in to the Navy Lodge and exploring the base. The first "experience" I had in Japan was actually in the airport bathroom at Yakota AFB a few minutes after landing. A little girl shout from the stall, "Mom I don't know what to do I can't read it!" and the Mom replies back, "It's just toilet paper, you know what to do!" (The toilet paper dispenser had Japanese characters on it...) I couldn't help but laugh! I didn't laugh for long though because as soon as we got off base I realized there are PLENTY of things I'm scratching my head about because I can't read them!


Once we got to the Navy base we settled in at the Navy lodge and had our first meal in Japan - Chili's!! I know, I know chips, salsa, ranch, and chicken tacos is NOT what I'd call an adventureous first meal, but we were starving after roughly 24 hours of traveling and only 2 small in flight meals. Dinner that night wasn't any more adventureous though - Sabarro's Pizza - but it's great to know we have a variety of American fast food places to choose from on base (Popeye's, Subway, McDonalds, Starbucks, Cinnibon). Also, we checked out the exchange and commissary and they pretty much have everything we're used to in a normal grocerery store or Wal-Mart in the states at normal prices. The only limitation is they might not have the specific brand we prefer.


The only noticable difference in the base here vs. bases in the states is cars drive on the opposite side of the road. Oh, and plumbing...the toilet handle flushes differently if you push down or pull up on it...the shower faucet is quite a contraption...and the sink faucets are the single knob style (not a seperate knob for hot and cold) the difference is that you push it down instead of pull it up to turn on the sink...I'm still having some issues with this!


So today we decided to venture off base and do some exploring in Yokosuka. I have to admit I was very nervous. My biggest fear was that we were going to get lost and not be able to find the base. You should understand though that the maps we have for Yokosuka are pretty rough - hand drawn maps - not your typical printed, detailed, drawn to scale map that you would buy in the states. Fortunately, all went well and it was a great day of exploring!


After much debate, we had our first true Japanese lunch at Toto Sushi in the Mikasa shopping center. We finally decided on this place because it was the conveyor belt style and we could pull plates off the conveyor belt ourselves. We weren't sure which restaurants had English or picture menus (nor did we know how to ask in Japanese) so this was a great choice. I got dizzy from the shot of wasabi that they sneak between the piece of fish and rice, but after the second piece I realized where it was coming from and discreetly got rid of it so I could actually taste what I was eating and it was very yummy - shrimp, ahi, and crab salad were our picks. Shane of course said I was a wimp, for taking the wasabi off, but it was VERY unexpected and strong!! They also brought out Miso soup when we sat down...after sipping on it for a while I noticed a sign in English that said the complimentary miso soup was made with ground fish bones and head! It tasted great though so I kept sipping - at least it wasn't dog!

to be continued...